Student Wins 2015 Poster Presentation of the Year at National Collegiate Honors Council
Conference

Student Wins 2015 Poster Presentation of the Year at National Collegiate Honors Council
Conference

by Bonnie Butcher

The University of West Georgia's Amelia Bagwell has proven her hard work through her
many accomplishments, the most recent being an award for her poster presentation at
the National Collegiate Honors Council conference this past November in Chicago. Her
research titled, “The ‘Me’ She Cannot See: Objectification and the Existential Experience
of Women” won the award in the Humanities/Diversity category.

Her interest in this topic stemmed from her classes at UWG, during courses in phenomenology
and existential psychology. She began considering the nature of being from a gender-specific
perspective. Her professors helped guide her with teachings and writings, sparking
her own journey of individual study into this very complex topic.

Amelia’s research explores the correlation between female sexual objectification and
its implications in relation to the existential experience. The focus is on “The Male
Gaze,” as defined by psychological theory, juxtaposed with “The Gaze of the Other,”
as construed through the existential writings of Jean-Paul Sartre.

The research argues that there is a negative prospect for women to experience ontological
growth as a result of adversarial relations between the psychologically identified
“male gaze” and the philosophically ontological gaze of “the Other.”

This study presents social norms that make the existential quest for a deeper, more
authentic relationship with the self especially difficult for women. Though this is
due to a multiplicity of conditions, Amelia chose to focus on the concept of objectification.

Amelia’s profound research was deservedly recognized. She won this award over 300
other honors student presentations.

“From the moment I met Amelia Bagwell, I knew she would have great academic success,”
said Stacey Rowland, UWG manager of undergraduate research. “At the NCHC conference
I witnessed her passionate delivery of her research topic and was most impressed with
the critical analysis and overall quality of her research. Even one of the judges
conveyed that her research is doctoral level quality at the undergraduate level.”

Amelia is the president of UWG’s Honors Council, a 2015 Ingram Scholar, a Jack Kent
Cooke Scholar, vice president of Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, and last year won the
award for NCHC’s National Honors Student of the Year. She is a tutor, volunteer speaker,
and studied abroad this past summer in France.

Though it seems extensive, this list is only a fraction of Amelia’s accomplishments.
Among her academic endeavors, there is one important thing that is to be noted about
Amelia: her success goes beyond titles and awards.

She is what some consider a “non-traditional” student, being a mother of six and splitting
her time between her Cartersville home and dorm living in Carrollton.

She is passionate about helping others, and she plans to continue her education in
psychology through graduate studies.

Student Wins 2015 Poster Presentation of the Year at National Collegiate Honors Council
Conference “If one other person suffers a little less because of something I learn
and/or teach, that is better than any award I will ever receive,” Amelia said. “What
I am most proud of can never be put on paper; the quiet interactions with struggling
students when I tutor or the moments of hope and healing when I am honored with someone
sharing their struggles with me.”

Amelia is a prime example of living out the phrase, “the sky is the limit.” She has
masterfully balanced her personal, professional, and academic life in a way that shines
beyond expectations. She encourages other UWG students to “take the opportunities
provided by our school as well as beyond our campus.”

Stacey echoed Amelia’s advice to other students in regards to the benefits of research
experience.

“Opportunities such as this can lead to new scholarly insights, open doors to graduate
level programs, and provide pathways to help students meet their career goals,” Stacey
said.

Amelia is currently working on finishing her degree in psychology with a minor in
history and specialized interest in philosophy. She plans to earn her Ph.D. and continue
adding a new voice to education through writing and teaching.